Sanders and Spencer slug it out

Across the country and from race to race, the struggle to finish the Flat season as Britain's champion jockey promises to provide a strand of fascination through the summer and on into autumn. In one corner is Seb Sanders, strong and punchy and in the hunt for his first title. In the other, Jamie Spencer, the cool, polished former champion who likes to deliver a challenge with split-second precision.

They make for an intriguing contrast in riding styles, but as of yesterday morning, there was nothing else to separate them in terms of achievement. After a combined total of 963 rides, Spencer and Sanders were tied on 85 winners each, ahead of a card at Lingfield Park on which both were due to partner well-fancied runners.

The bookies seem convinced that when Spencer's main employers - Michael Bell, James Fanshawe and Ed Dunlop among them - bring out the bulk of their two-year-olds this autumn, the 2005 champion will pull clear. Ladbrokes make him a 1-3 chance, with Sanders available at 2-1.

Sanders, though, has a stubborn streak in his nature which has made him a great favourite of the punters and if the action at Lingfield yesterday is any guide, this is a contest that will be closely-fought until its end in early November.

Both riders were out of luck in the first race, but then Sanders forced Hazy Days, a 5-1 shot, ahead of Jawaaneb in the final strides of the second. Half an hour later, he had a much more straightforward task on Without A Prayer, the 5-4 favourite for a seven-furlong maiden, who streaked away from his field to win by four lengths.

Neither rider could add to their seasonal total during the rest of the afternoon, though both were in action last night too. As they left Lingfield, though, Sanders once again had just the tiniest crack of daylight at the top of the table.

"I'm having a great season and it's great to be in the thick of it," he said afterwards. "If I have a bit of luck, then I'll be in with a great chance.

"I've had a very quiet July by my standards - normally it's my most productive time of the year but this month has probably been as quiet a July as I've had for a few years. But having said that, I got more winners in May and June than I've ever had, so it will even itself out at some stage.

"I never ride many winners in October, as most of the stables I ride for have used up most of the yard by then, but I've got my feet in a few other doors and hopefully where I've lacked in strength in recent years I might have gained this time."

Spencer, who scored on his first two rides at Leicester last night to draw level again, insists that he is not giving the championship any thought at this stage.

"You can't talk about the title now, we haven't even got past Goodwood and York yet," he said, "and while the evening racing's on, anyone can suddenly ride three or four winners in a day. It's when the evening racing has finished and you ride a treble, that's when it really matters."

A tight title race can be an excellent selling point for the sport in the closing months of the year, but it is one that may be partly denied to many high street punters as the dispute over the broadcast of live pictures in betting shops continues.

The rancour between the major bookies and the courses behind Turf TV, a rival to SIS, appeared to increase yesterday, with the threat of legal action on behalf of the bookmakers, on the basis that Turf TV's attempt to end the SIS monopoly is "anti-competitive".